Chris Shanahan: Wine review — Angoves, Lindeman and Cherubino

Angoves Vineyard Select Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 $18
South Australia’s 2010 vintage produced excellent red wines, with vibrant fruit flavours and smooth, round tannins. We see this from the Barossa in the north to Coonawarra in the south. In this instance Angove’s Vineyard Select gives us the true Coonawarra cabernet sauvignon experience at a comparatively low price. The elegant wine delivers vibrant, ripe, red-berry varietal character, subtly seasoned with sweet oak. Grippy but fine, smooth tannins complete the cabernet picture and there’s just a hint of varietal leafiness in the aftertaste. The back label suggests cellaring, but I see it as a medium-bodied, drink-now wine.

Lindemans Bin Series whites 2012 $5.45–$10
Cheap wines can be a good litmus of vintage quality. The recently reviewed Jacobs Creek Riesling 2012, for example, being one of the best under-$10 whites you’re ever likely to buy. The perennial unpopularity of riesling allowed its makers to source fruit from the best riesling-growing regions, despite the low price. Lindemans Bin 65 Chardonnay 2012 and Bin 95 Sauvignon Blanc 2012, on the other hand, come from warm inland regions rather than the best areas for those varieties. In the mild 2012 season this translated to vibrant varietal flavours and great freshness – meaning good drinking at a low price.

Cherubino Permberton Sauvignon Blanc 2012 $35
As Hardy’s winemaker in Western Australia, Larry Cherubino enjoyed access to a thousand hectares or more of plum vineyards across the state’s south, including Margaret River, Pemberton and the various sub-regions of Great Southern. Since going solo in 2005, Cherubino and wife Edwina source fruit from their own Frankland River vineyard and growers in Margaret River, Pemberton and the Porongurups. Cherubino’s sauvignon blanc offers a subtle and lovely alternative to the Marlborough style. It leans to the passionfruit-like riper end of the varietal spectrum, in a charming way, with fresh, soft acidity and fine, smooth texture.